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Week 6 football power rankings

MMU’s Gus Tarrant (right) chases Essex’s Brendan Gleason in last week’s Division I high school football game. The Hornets won 40-19 to climb up this week’s power rankings. RYAN MERCER/FREE PRESS

With a four-game winning streak, Essex has made the biggest jump in this week’s power rankings. Middlebury and South Burlington appear to be 1-2 in Division I, setting up an undefeated matchup in Middleury this Friday night.

Offer your thoughts in the comment section and also take a look at the QPR standings by division and the upcoming schedule for Week 7.

Enjoy.

Through Week 6

1. Middlebury (6-0): The Tigers did allow their first rushing touchdown of the season in last week’s 48-6 win at Mount Anthony. But, once again, a quick start ignited the rout. Middlebury scored four touchdowns in the first 3:05 of the first quarter. Last week: 1.

2. South Burlington (6-0): Behind Tanner Contois’ five touchdowns, the Rebels rolled past an undermanned CVU squad to post a 49-6 Homecoming victory. Contois and the high-flying Rebels get a crack at Middlebury — the heavyweight matchup is Friday night. No question the game of the year to date. Last week: 2.

3. Essex (4-2): 0-2 seems like a long time ago for the Hornets, doesn’t it? Brendan Gleason was all over the field, Joey Robertson made some big throws when it mattered and the coaching staff dialed up key packages to slow MMU’s offense. It all added up their fourth straight win and a big push up this week’s rankings. Last week: 6.

4. Lyndon (6-0): Despite losing seven of eight fumbles, the Vikings held on for a road win against Fair Haven. While the Vikings couldn’t hang onto the ball Friday night, they do hold onto the No. 4 position — a road win over a Division II contender like Fair Haven carries weight in this space. Last week: 4.

5. Hartford (3-2): The Hurricanes, who were upset by St. Johnsbury, haven’ t had two in-state losses in a season since 2009, the last time the program failed to qualify for the Division I playoffs. Last week: 3.

6. Champlain Valley (4-2): With a dozen players suspended for a team infraction, the Redhawks didn’t stand much of a chance against South Burlington. Coach Jim Provost said the missing players, the majority of which were starters, are expected to return this week for a home game against Mount Anthony. Last week: 5.

7. BFA-St. Albans (3-3): The Bobwhites, behind Charlie Richardson’s big rushing effort, got a much-needed win over Colchester. BFA heads to Rutland this week, another team fighting for a playoff spot with two weeks to ago. Last week: 9.

8. Woodstock (6-0): The Wasps gave up an 80-yard touchdown drive on Winooski’s first possession and then fumbled on their first opportunity. Still, Woodstock charged back for its first regular-season comeback since 2011 (the Wasps also trailed BFA-Fairfax in last year’s Division III title game before rallying). The Wasps play host to D-II favorite Lyndon this week. Last week: 8.

9. Rutland (3-2): The Raiders only scored one touchdown but it was enough to blank Brattleboro and a good way to bounce back from the heartbreak home defeat to Essex the previous week. Last week: 10.

10. Burlington (2-3): The Seahorses lost at Rice 21-20 in the teams’ annual rivalry game, which came down to a failed two-point conversion try with 31.7 seconds left. However, it was not without controversy: Burlington, on an early fourth quarter drive, was only given three downs instead of four by the officials, coach Brennan Carney said. Rice stopped BHS on what was believed to be fourth-and-1 at the Rice 9-yard line. Last week: 7.

On the bubble: Rice (4-2)

QPR standings
*Win-loss record, QPR number in parenthesis
* The QPR formula (Quality Point Rating) determines playoff seedings for each division
*Top 8 in Division I and III advance to postseason; top 4 qualify for tournament play in D-II

Friday’s games
Games start at 7 p.m.
Mount Mansfield at Hartford
U-32 at Springfield
Brattleboro at Colchester
Essex at Burlington
South Burlington at Middlebury
Otter Valley at Winooski
BFA-St. Albans at Rutland
Lyndon at Woodstock

Saturday’s games
Games start at 1 p.m. unless noted
Mount St. Joseph at Oxbow
Fair Haven at Bellows Falls
Mount Anthony at Champlain Valley
Burr and Burton at Rice Memorial
Mount Abraham at Mill River
North Country at St. Johnsbury
Poultney at BFA-Fairfax, 2 p.m.
Milton at Spaulding, 2 p.m.

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About Alex Abrami

I've been working in the Burlington Free Press sports department as a copy editor and writer since Sept. 2007. I've been covering Vt. sports for the BFP since 2001. I also spent a year at the Times Argus in Barre (2004-05).
I played soccer and ran track and field at Rice Memorial High School before I studied Journalism & Mass Communications at St. Michael's College.
My love of high school sports, journalism and Vermont life has kept me in the Green Mountain state despite my sworn allegiance to New York teams: the Yankees, Giants, Knicks and Rangers.
If anyone has a story idea or a question, please don't hesitate to reach out to me.

155 Responses to Week 6 football power rankings

@ Monday Morn QB…Is the QPR really that simple? I just computed a couple different teams QPR’s based off of your formula and did not get what Alex has listed as their QPR on his Week 7 Power Rankings. Here are my examples…

1) Brattleboro (1-6) Only win vs. Bellows Falls (5-2). They should get 7 points for beating a D2 team plus 10 more points for BF’s 5 wins. Therefore they have a total of 17 points for their lone win. 17 points/7 games played = 2.429…Alex has 2.125

2) MSJ (1-6) Only win vs. Springfield (0-6). They receive 5 points for defeating a D3 team and no additional points since Springfield is winless. 5 points/7 games played = 0.714…Alex has 0.625

I did just notice that if you divide Brattleboro and MSJ’s total points by 8 games played that you get the QPR that Alex posted…is it just his mistake or am I missing something?

Best answer to this whole QPR thing is to wait and see what happens after the last game is played a week from Saturday. Sounds like some are really concerned and everybody has an answer but not the right one.

Dan: I agree with your math. BFP and V.I.F.L. both have the same QPR scores. I would divide by the number of games played to date, but they divide by the number of games scheduled for the regular season. If you go to the VT Principals Association Athletics’ 2013 football guide, you will find all the info for regular season and the QPR formula. It is fun, if you have the time.